Golden at Zones

Times Reporter   

 

It’s been 14 years since the Strathmore High School (SHS) Spartans boys curling team won Zones, but from Feb. 14-15 in Drumheller, SHS ended the dry spell. 

Skip Jason Wilson, second Jesse Luehr, third Scott Thurston and lead Aidan Anderson defeated the defending champion Morrin High School Mustangs in the gold medal game, 8-2.

“I’m amazingly proud. I haven’t wiped the smile off my face since Saturday,” said coach Michelle Ledene. “We didn’t give up the lead at all in that game. We dominated that game. It was pretty awesome to see these boys maintain their calm, their cool, their composure. They didn’t get too up or cocky, and they didn’t get down or fold. They were awesome, just stayed really steady and played a really good game.”

SHS had lost 6-2 to the Morrin Mustangs in their first round-robin game of the tournament, though the score was tied 2-2 up until the fourth end. Morrin also had three returning players from last year’s gold team.

“We had to kind of say to them, you know what, the first game was good to lose, because maybe Morrin felt that they were just going to win,” Ledene said. “To see them again for the gold medal, one of the things we said was, we’re the underdogs. We have nothing to lose here. I think that helped with their attitude.”

The ice in Drumheller, Ledene said, was a challenge as well – for all teams.

“To the left of centre line, the ice fell. Our skip, Jason, really picked up on that quickly. He was excellent to use that to our advantage. If we could get some rocks over there, then the other team would waste shots trying to take those out,” Ledene said. “That’s ice that even some veteran skips with adult leagues would have a hard time with.”

The Spartans also defeated Youngstown and Cochrane in the tournament – a feat in itself for a team that did not have any seniors.

“They’re all experienced curlers even though they’re Grade 10 and 11,” Ledene said.

“We’ve had a lot of good curlers come through the high school,” said co-coach Brad Steele. “The fact that they’re Grade 11 and Grade 10, it’ll be good for next year.”

Steele was the coach of the last boys team to win zones back in 2000. SHS has qualified for zones every year but have had trouble capturing the banner.

“All these boys have been products of the awesome program out of the Strathmore District Curling Club. A lot of them have been curling for a long time,” Ledene said. “They’ve practiced together in the past. It’s just the first time that we’ve ended up putting them together on a team.”

The Spartans have qualified for provincials with placing first at zones. Until then, repetition in practice is key.

“We’ll continue to practice as a team. We’ll just continue working on our deliveries, and our communication to make sure our sweeping calls are all good,” Steele said.

Steele mentioned he was glad there were no conflicting schedules with the Southern Alberta Curling Association, which most of his players are involved with.

“These players were able to compete in other levels but still compete in high school,” Steele said. “Some years, you’re going to have the players but because of the way their club training goes, they can’t compete.” 

SHS will travel to Leduc for provincials from Mar. 7-8.